Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $4.34 Million Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 154,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 69,100 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $4,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock opened at $27.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.68. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.30 and a 1 year high of $35.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. Equities analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on IPG shares. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.